File tab or signal



April 14, 1959 s. A. E. ToRNsJo 2,881,766

FILE TAB 0R SIGNAL `Filed Feb. 6, 1956 United States atent 2,881,766 FILE TAB R SIGNAL Sven A. E. Tornsjo, Arlington, Mass., assignor to George B. Gral Company, Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 6, 1956, Serial No. 563,638

1 Claim. (Cl. 129-16.8)

Heretofore it has been proposed to provide tabs, both of the signal and index variety, featured essentially by the use of a pair of resilient leg members adapted to receive between them and grip a marginal portion of a file card. Special forms of these prior art tabs are provided with projecting portions adapted to coact with holes punched in the card to insure better grip, but the standard talb is not so provided. v

An ideal tab must be readily attachable to the card, lnon-tangling with other cards, must firmly resist accidental dislodgement and at the same time must be capable of readily being removed or moved to a different adjusted position when desired. These sever-al desirable character- Iistics have been heretofore generally considered, at least to some extent, to be mutually exclusive, and the standard tab in ycurrent use is a compromise between security and ease of movement. For example, the usual index tab of the prior art is featured by the provision of a pair of resilient gripping legs or arms which may be spaced apart near the top, but which are bent toward each other to form a tight nip at their lower ends. Such a tab grips the card firmly but it is very. hard to install, adjust, or remove, and may damage the *card when moved. Often in prior art tabs the front leg member carries an upturned lip to facilitate attachment to the card. This lip is objectionable las cards catch under it and are firmly caught on top of the card which is intended to be signaled or indexed and also it weakens the grip. Prior art constructions for use with punched cards, having projections adapted to cooperate with the holes, may grip satisfactorily but nevertheless are difiicult to attach or remove or Iadjust from side to side and generally they are not usable with requal advantage upon unpunched cards.

With the foregoing in mind, the primary o'bject of the present invention is to provide a tab of new and improved construction which solves the foregoing problems in a manner more satisfactory than any prior art structure of which I am aware and without compromising between se curity and ease of movement.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a tab which may be readily attached or detached or moved to a different adjusted position on a card as desired, but which, when attached, will firmly grip the 'card against accidental displacement.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a tab which may be used equally well with either cards having punched-out holes to cooperate with portions of the tab or plain unpunched cards.

Yet another object of the invention `is to provide a new and improved tab of the type described which will not abrade or injure the card on which it is used during either fice ' 2 attachment, detachment, or movement from side to side to different adjusted positions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel construction of the type described which may with equal advantage take the form of either a file signal or an index tab.

In accordance with the invention, I provide a tab for attachment to a card in afile system which comprises front and rear depending leg members of resilient material adapted to receive the edge of a card therebetween. The leg members are joined to each other at their upper ends and one of the leg members has struck from it nearv its lower end at least one elongated generally horizontally arranged bridging strip presenting a smooth generally vertical convex curved surface extending toward the other leg. The other leg member is cut away opposite the bridge portion. This bridge portion forms a runner in the direc movement therebetween in the other direction. A visualr indicating member extends upwardly from the junctureof the leg members and this juncture forms an abutment' limiting the degree of reception of the card between thel leg members. The runner acts as spacing means between the two leg members normally holding the same -in substantially parallel spaced relation to facilitate reception of the card therebetween yby coaction between the convex strip or runner and the rim of the opening cut'in the rear leg member, the distance across said opening being less than the length of said runner. v

Still further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying` drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts in the several views and in which:

Fig. l is a view in elevation of a portion of ay punched` file card showing one of my novel signal tabs in placel thereon and illustrating the manner of attachment and removal of another of the same;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective on an enlarged scale of a signal tab in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale K- taken on line 4 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal view taken on line Fig. 6 is a rear view of the signal tab itself corresponding to Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a view similar to signal in position on such an imperforate card.

Figs. 1 8 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the in-y vention as applied to a file signal, Ii.e., asignal type yof file tab. Preferably the signals are formed from a single resilient metallic sheet, from which blanks are stamped out and then formed, using machinery and techniquesl known in the art and therefore not here shown.

generally by the numeral 20.

and an `apertured rear leg member 24. The two leg members are joined to each other at the top as indicated by the numeral 26. Cut out from the front leg member 22 and allowed to remain straight in the forming operation is the signal portion 28 which is intended to protrude above the card on which the signal is mounted (see Fig.

4SfS of Figli; l

Fig. 4, 'but showing the` novelI signal as applied to a plain imperforate file card; and i Fig. 8 is a sectional view similarto Fig. 5 showing the:

I). The'arms 22a and 22b and the piece 23 remain in the member 22 after the ag 28 has been thus cut out. The flag 28 may be provided with any desired indicia or code, such as color, numerals, letters, or other insignia.

More particularly referringy now to Figs. 1-6, illustrating the novel signal both individually and attached to a punched card, it will be observed that there has-been struck inwardly from the connecting arm 23 a bridge member or strip 30 which has a smooth vertically arranged curved surface protruding convexly toward the other leg member 24. Directly opposite the bridge member 30 an opening is punched in the rear leg member 24, this aperture being indicated by the numeral 32. The dimensions of the bridge 30 and the diameter of the-hole 32 are so proportioned that portions of the bridge engage the rim ofthe opening so as to hold the front and rear leg members `normally in mutually spaced parallel relationship toV facilitate placing o-n a card, in the'manner indicatedat the right in Fig. 1.

If the signal is to be used with a punched card of the type illustrated in Fig. l, the vertical distance between the convex bridge member 30 and the juncture of the two legs, as atV 26, will be so chosen as to co-rrespond with the distance from the edge 36 of the card 38 of the slots 34. Thus when properly placed on the card, the-bridge 30 will protrude through one of the slots 34 and enter partially `the opening 32, all as best seen in Fig. 5.

lf, n the other hand, referring more particularly to Figs. 7 and 8, the signal is to be used on an imperforate card 38a, then the convex bridge portion 30' will bear against that portion of the card 38a which is opposite the opening 32, slightly indenting and firmly gripping the same.

It will be particularly noted that the novel construction, according to the invention Vas embodied in the signal, eliminates the need for any compromise between security and ease 'of movement as in the standard signal now on the market. Thus, it is a feature of the invention that the bridge member 30 shall be struck out in such a way as to present a smooth convexly curved surface in the direction of its length, Whereas in the other direction (up and down) it presents relatively sharp, continuous edges which will grip and dig into the material composing the file card on which it is placed inhibiting movement in that direction. The bridge thus acts as a form of runner and the signal may be readily slid onto the card by first tilting it and then sliding it onto the card in an arcuate path in the manner generally indicated in Fig. 1. The runner thus permits relative movement between the card andl the signal generally in the direction of the length of the bridging strip or runner for attachment, detachmentv or sidewise movement vfrom place to place on the edge of the card, and this is true whether the signal be used on a slottedfcard of the type illustrated in Fig.11 or on a plain card of the type illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. However, the signal, once on the card, slotted or plain, will resist very strenuously any upward motion, the more so when the lbridgeY member 30 occupies one of the slots 34. Even fusing a plain card as shown in Figs. 7 and'8, the signal resists upward displacement to an extent exceeding any ordinary signal nowr on the market of which I am aware. Furthermore, since the cooperation between the bridge 30 and the rim of the slot 32 provides a spacing meansholding the front leg member 22 in parallelv spacedl relation to the' rear leg member 24, there is no need to employy the usual upwardly turned lip on the bottom dgeof the'front leg member. Thus, when the signal is usedon punched or nnpunched cards, the danger of other cards becoming caughtv under the front leg member of the signal is completely eliminated. The curved strip, therefore, of the invention, perfprms a valuable combination of highly useful functions, namely: (l) to act as a runner when the signal is placed on or removed from the card or moved sideways from place to place thereon; (2) to coact with one of the slots of a punched card, to lock the signal firmly in place; "(3) to grip the surface of a plain unpunched card so Vas to inhibit 4any but sidewise movement; and (4) to coact with the edge of the hole inlthe rear leg member to space apart'the front and rear leg members in the desired parallel relationship to facilitate placing on a card.

In systems that require 'constant removal of cards from the file, slotted cards will ordinarily be used. In systems of less activity, the same signals rnaybe` employed without the slots. One stock of signals can be drawn upon for both applications and, Without the slot, the new signal stays on with greater certainty and can be moved drawings described and illustrated a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that the same' is susceptible of various modications and changes by those skilled in the art nevertheless within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

' A tab for attachment to a card, comprising front and rear depending resilient leg members adapted to receive the edge of a card therebetween, said leg members being joined to each otherat their upper ends so as to be yieldingly urged together, one of said leg members having struck therefrom near its lower end lat least one elongated substantially horizontal ybridging strip having a generally vertically arranged smoothly curved convex surface extending toward the other leg member, said strip remaining attached to the member from which it is struck at both ends thereof and the upper Vand lower edges thereof being relatively sharp to form gripping surfaces so that said strip formsv a runner facilitating relative motion between said tab and said card in the direction of its length while firmly gripping said card inhibiting relative movement therebetween in the other direction, said other leg member having an aperture therein opposite said bridging strip, said aperture having a horizontal dimension less than the length of said bridging strip, the latter engaging the opposite edges of the aperture to hold said legs in substantially parallel spaced apart relation on both sides `of said aperture and bridging strip to facilitate reception of the card therebetween on each side of said aperture.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 213,306 Stieglitz Mar. 18, 1879 850,245 Newald Apr. 16, :7 941,273 Ralph Nov. 23, 1909 2,184,569 Stewart Dec. 26, 19139 2,664,089 `Meltzer Dec. 29, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 992,957 France July 18, 1951 1,115,239 France Dec. 28, 1955 

